2015 Range Rover Evoque
Type of vehicle: Five-passenger, all-wheel-drive compact crossover
Price as tested: $50,244
Fuel economy: 21 miles per gallon city, 30 highway
Weight: 4,117 pounds
Engine: Turbocharged, direct-injected 2-liter four-cylinder with 240 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Performance: 0 to 60 mph in 6.9 seconds
Sources: Jaguar Land Rover North America; Car and Driver
When the radical Evoque arrived in 2012, it
defined the compact near-luxury crossover segment — stylish, all-wheel-drive, quasi-SUVs that whipped image and utility into a frothy, pricey blend.
So I welcomed a spin in the Evoque, a vehicle that I think still strongly influences crossover design. Just take a look at the current Ford Explorer and Escape.
Fortunately, all of the eye-popping dimensions and proportions were still present in the metallic black 2015 Evoque I had recently.
Like most Rovers, the rakish Evoque faced the world defiantly with a slightly curved front end wearing traditional “Range Rover” in 1.5-inch silver letters.
It also sported a chain-style grille, obligatory fierce headlamps and a relatively long, flat hood.
But with the Evoque, all convention stops at the windshield — with the bugs.
Wild, flared fenders jutted into the character line running down its side, intentionally disrupting the flow.
Meanwhile, extremely short overhangs front and rear and a sloping, chopped-down top gave the Evoque a vaguely outdoor-gangster look.
In back, the Evoque combined a traditional hatch with a small mail-slot rear window shaded by a signature Rover eyebrow.
Mine rode on kind of pedestrian 19-inch alloy wheels spinning 235/55 tires. Opt for the 20s instead. The high-styling Evoque deserves them.
The first time I drove one a few years ago, its hyper dynamics sort of stunned me.
Powered by a turbocharged 2-liter four-banger barking out 240 horsepower, the Evoque felt more lively and edgy than some of Rover’s eight-cylinder models.
Not much has changed.
Throttle response in the Ford-derived engine was as immediate and jolting, occasionally delivering neck-popping starts.
The turbo seemed to really spool up in the mid-range, giving the trucklet a little shot of rocket air.
Moreover, the 2015 Evoque featured a new nine-speed automatic that clicked off pretty decent shifts in straight-line acceleration.
What will probably irritate you is the lag in the transmission when you need a quick downshift for passing or merging.
In addition, the turbo-four made good road music, feeling fairly refined and energetic up to about 4,000 rpm.
From there to 6,000, it could get a little raggedy, but it was still pretty effective.
As a stubby, relatively tall, sort-of SUV, the 4,100-pound Evoque tackled corners as aggressively as some sports sedans, which was surprising.
Like most Rovers, the Evoque’s fully independent suspension absorbed big vertical jolts and movements pretty well, though it felt stiffer than larger Rovers.
But the Evoque is the only Land Rover/Range Rover that can claim 30 mile-per-gallon fuel economy on the highway, as well as 21 in town.
I’m not sure what to think of the $50,244 window sticker on mine. While pretty stratospheric for middle-income buyers, 50 large is a good down payment on some Rovers.
But that amount is also about $15,000 more than a loaded Ford Escape, which offers about the same level of turbocharged performance and handling.
And the black interior in my Evoque didn’t sway me much one way or the other.
While the Evoque featured good Range Rover shapes inside, they didn’t get formed and stitched with the same sort of expensive materials.
A graceful curved dashboard — in pliable black plastic — had faux stitching on its edges and a squared-off hood over the black instrument panel.
Recessed tidily in the center of the dash was a trim-looking display screen, while a wide black-plastic console curved up to join the dash near the base of the display screen.
As you might expect in a Rover, a rotary shifter roughly the size and shape as the rinse knob on your mom’s Maytag rose from the console when the engine was started.
Similarly, the style and shape of the black leather seats looked Rover-esque, but didn’t feel as sumptuous — nor should they, I guess, in an entry-level Rover.
Also, legroom in back was a bit tight, and the Evoque’s white headliner felt like something out of a Toyota Corolla.
But the Evoque is a real Rover, able to sail down an isolated interstate at 100 mph or crawl along a rocky trail at 10.
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